


Cheeseburgers and Milkshakes

by Authoranna



Category: Hardy Boys - Franklin W. Dixon, Nancy Drew (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Train Ride, long long build up to smut, platonic and non platonic bed sharing, they share a bed, they're like 23 in this, they're oblivious to the other being in love with them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:35:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 19,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26783011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Authoranna/pseuds/Authoranna
Summary: Jacelyn has been friends with the Hardy Boys Frank and Joe for years, always helping them solve their cases while she stays in Bayport. She isn't always happy about being the phone friend, but it could be worse. Oh, and she's in love with Joe but he has no idea. He's in love with her too, but she doesn't know.
Relationships: Joe Hardy/Original Female Character, joe hardy - Relationship, joe hardy/ofc
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, here's some angsty oblivious young adults being friends who are in love.  
> I started this three years ago and it lay abandoned in my drive for years and then I picked it up today while procrastinating and added a little more to it so hopefully you can tell where it is that it lay festering for three years and where I picked it back up again.  
> Enjoy!

She settled onto the couch, drawing her legs up under her as she sat. She pulled the fluffy white blanket over her legs, the remote flopping out of the tangle as she rearranged it to suit her.

* _Yo Jacelyn, pick up your phone. Pick up the phone, Jacelyn. Pick up the phone. Jacelyn, pi-*_ , her phone sang at her from the coffee table. She sighed as she stretched forward to pick it up, smiling all the while without looking at the caller id.

“Joe, when did you change my ringtone to that?” She asked without preamble.

“The last time I touched your phone, so two days ago. You busy?” The younger of the Hardy boys replied.

“No, I'm never too busy for my favorite detectives. What's shaking? Where are you guys at now?” Jacelyn leaned back on the couch, playing with the edge of the blanket.

“Hey Jacelyn! We're in France right now; a mummy is missing,” Frank cut in. “We haven't gotten too far into the case yet, since we got here late last night.”

“A mummy in France? Does it have to do with that museum-?”

“Yeah, that's the one,” Joe said. “How did you know?”

“They never really succeed in this day and age to keep everything underwraps; news always leaks of a stolen mummy somehow. So, you boys need any help yet?”

“No, but we've got you on speed dial in case we need you. We'll keep in touch, okay?”

“Sounds good, Frank. You know how good I am at using the interwebs,” Jacelyn sighed.

“Hey, you're a giant help, Jace. We really appreciate all the stuff you do for us,” Joe answered. “We couldn't have solved a lot of our cases without you researching stuff for us while we're following the bad guys.”

“Thanks, Joe. I'll let you guys get back to it, then. Call if I can be of use. Bye.” Jacelyn sighed as she hit the disconnect button, tossing the phone towards the end of the couch. “I just wish you'd take me on a fucking case sometime, guys; I feel like Shaggy without my Scoobs.”

  
  


***

  
  


_*blipblipbleeeep*_

Jacelyn grabbed her phone from where it lay on the kitchen counter, pulling up the message. A page from an old book was shown in the picture, and there was no caption. A moment later, she swiped left to answer the incoming call from the Hardys.

“Did you get the picture we just sent?” Frank asked.

“Yeah, but I can't research it without some context. You wanna give me the full deets of the case? Or at least tell me what the book is about?”

“We need to know what that page says. We can't read hieroglyphics, Jacelyn, but you can, right?”

“Uh, I can read some, as in what I've learned from the Discovery Channel and Zahi Hwass. Let me take a closer look at this real quick.”

Jacelyn put the call on speaker and minimized it, pulling the picture back up. She zoomed in and out a few times on different areas, mumbling under her breath as she did.

“Okay, I can't read it completely because the lighting is bad in the pic, but it's a kartouche for a princess. You can tell it's a princess because there's a glyph that looks like someone sitting on a horse or in a chair. If it was a prince he'd be kneeling. Wait, hold on; the glyph is mirrored. She should be facing left, but she's not. I don't know who the kartouche is for, but something about 'Ra and his arm'. Have you tried reverse google image searching it? Though I'd suggest shining a flashlight on it maybe first.”

“You're a genius, Jacelyn! Thanks!” Joe said quickly. A second later the call disconnected.

“You're welcome, I guess. Guess I won't explain how I knew that or anything, or find out what's going on; I'm just the talking library after all.”

***

_*Yo Jacelyn, pick up your phone. Pick up the phone, Jacelyn. Pick up the phone. Jacelyn-*_

“Jacelyn's talking library service, how may I help you?” Jacelyn put her pencil down, pushing the drawing aside as she spoke.

“You have time to talk?” Joe asked, his voice hushed. “Shoot, I forgot about the six hour time difference. You were probably busy. Sorry.”

“Nah, I wasn't busy; it's 1830 here. I've got all the time in the world tonight, Joe. Why are you whispering?”

“I'm sitting in the bathroom with the door closed; Frank's asleep. I just want to talk the case over with you.”

“Hold on, let me switch notebooks; I was doodling and want my casebook for this.” Jace ran to the bookshelf, the phone pressed between her shoulder and ear as she scanned the shelf for the journal she kept of the Hardy's cases. More journals of the same subject were stored beneath her bed, dating back to the seventh grade when she had moved to Bayport and met the sleuths over ten years ago. 

“Okay, I'm back. Hit me with the deets; I'm sure there's lots from the past two days.” She clicked her pencil twice, making sure the lead was solid.

“The mummy walked off: literally. We watched the surveillance video of it. And we traced the truck the mummy came in on to this one warehouse...”

Forty minutes later, Jacelyn had filled four pages with notes on the case, drawing pictures of the clues as she was sent them. The Hardys were good at getting photo evidence of clues; sending them to her immediately wasn't their strong point. She couldn't blame them too much, though, since they were always busy chasing the suspects and solving cases.

“So, any new leads after talking it out with me?” Jacelyn asked, leaning back in the chair. She ran a hand through her hair, brushing it out of her face.

“Yeah, I think there's one or two things we're gonna look into tomorrow. You know, you're always mentioning your casebook; one of these days you'll have to show me it,” Joe laughed.

“Maybe I will; if you can find it of course. You sound tired; go to sleep.”

“Talk to you later, Jace.”

Jacelyn smiled as she turned her phone off, laughing at herself. She ran a finger over the pages of her casebook, the little notes scribbled in the margins next to the main notes covering the pages. She knew she'd be running the case through her head all day, imagining herself alongside her friends as they solved the case of the walking mummy. One day, she'd actually be there. Until then, she had her casebook and a cell phone to connect them.

***

_bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt bzzzzzzzzzzzzzt_

Jacelyn groaned, rolling over to find the vibrating phone before it went to voicemail. “Whaa-? It's 3 AM, Joe,” she mumbled, running a hand over her face.

“Which way is the princess glyph supposed to face?”

“Left.”

_click_

“Not even a fucking thank you. I'd better get a really big milkshake after this case is over.”

***

_*blipblipbleeeep*_

_*blipblipbleeeep*_

_*blipblip-*_

_*blipblip-*_

_*blipblipbleeeep*_

Jacelyn fumbled for her phone as it beeped at her three more times before she finally pulled up the message thread.

8 Messages from Joe Received at 0715

|We solved the case!

|Here's the baddie <picture attached>

|We should be heading home later 2night so we'll get in to Bayport at like the asscrack of dawn.

|I think. It's like a 7 hr flight.

|Our flight leaves here at 1030 Paris time

|wait, 6 hr time difference. Duh. So like midnight?

|Can't wait to tell you all about the case when we get back. Ur gonna love it. I bought you a souvenir btw. It's not that cool tho

|Frank says hi. Also, sorry for blowing up your phone.

Jacelyn laughed as she read the messages, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Message to Joe Sent at 0717

|Glad you'll be back soon.

 ** _I've missed you_** _,_ she typed out, erasing it after a moment. **_I've missed you guys. I've almost missed your presence. I've missed you guys bugging me in person. I miss you._**

Message to Joe Sent at 0719

|We can talk over cheeseburgers and milkshakes, yeah?

Message from Joe Received at 0720

|Def. Two days? I'm probably gonna sleep like all day tomorrow ngl.

Message to Joe Sent at 0721

|Sounds good. Hope you can get some sleep on the plane.

Message from Joe Received at 0722

|Thanks. Ttyl

She flopped back onto the bed, playing with a strand of hair as she put the phone back on the nightstand.

**_You're hopeless, Jacelyn. Just fucking confess already._ **

***

She wiped her feet on the mat, ringing the doorbell with one hand as she held a takeout bag in the other. The smell of cheeseburgers and fries wafted up to her nose before it could be carried away by the wind. After a minute she rang the doorbell again, looking out from under the stoop to the storm clouds that were gathering. She didn't mind a summer storm, as long as she wasn't outside in it.

Jacelyn sighed as no one came to the door within the next minute, and she looked down at the phone in her hand. It said the proper time, so she wasn't early or late for her and Joe's meet-up. Finally, she put her phone away and walked off the stoop to the side of the house.

She looked up at the boys' bedroom window, which was open to let in the breeze. The hallway window was open as well, and she thought for a minute before making up her mind. There was only one course of action to take, and she was going to do it.

“Okay Jace, you've climbed this tree countless times. A bag of cheeseburgers shouldn't make it that much more difficult,” she said to herself, throwing her keys into the paperbag. She folded the top of the bag down twice, then bit down on the top to free her hands.

She started climbing the tree quickly, scrambling up the side nearest the window so she could grab the branch that extended almost to the windowsill.

“Jacelyn? What the fuck are you doing?” Frank called from the bedroom window.

“Climbing a tree,” she answered, her words slurred and muffled by the bag she still gripped between her teeth.

Frank watched from the hallway as she finished her ascent to the windowsill, having pushed the screen up for her. “Why were you climbing the tree? You could have just rang the doorbell.”

“I did, several times; no one answered. I was starting to think I was the south end of a northbound cat.”

The two stopped talking as heavy footsteps came up the flight of stairs. The owner of the footsteps started talking before he became visible. “Frank, do you know where-? Jacelyn! I was wondering where you were! How'd you get upstairs without me seeing you?”

Jacelyn recounted her tale of climbing the tree again, grinning at the end. “Were you vacuuming or something?”

“No, making the milkshakes; that blender is loud. Come on, the burgers are getting cold.” Joe grabbed Jacelyn's elbow, dragging her down the stairs.

“I'll talk to you later, Frank,” she called back, laughing at Joe's enthusiasm.

Jacelyn deposited the slightly worse for wear takeout bag on the breakfast counter, sitting on one of the barstools before taking the food out. She ran her eyes over Joe slowly as he divided the milkshakes into two tall cups, his back turned to her as he worked on the opposite counter. His blond hair was parted in the middle haphazardly, resembling Dmitri from the animated movie about Anastasia. If her eyes lingered on his shorts, it was an accident; no one could blame her.

“You know, for not being able to boil water, you certainly know how to make milkshakes,” she said as he turned back around.

“Well, have to keep you happy, don't I? Ooh, I almost forgot ketchup.”

Jacelyn took a sip of the sweet concoction set before her, licking her lips of the remnants slowly. “There's cherry, and chocolate. And something else, right? Mmmm, it's sweet. Brownie bits?”

Joe nodded, sitting down across from Jacelyn.

About halfway through the burger, Joe started talking. “The case was wild. So you know how I called you at like 3 AM a couple nights ago? Well we were at the museum in the back room and the sarcophagus...”

  
  


***

  
  


“Oh, I almost forgot to give you the souvenirs I bought you,” Joe said after their food and shakes were gone. “Let me run up and get them. I'll be right back.”

Jacelyn nodded before he went up the stairs, standing up to walk to the sink. She slid the rings off of her fingers before turning the water on, the three pieces of silver glinting at her from the countertop. She started washing the dishes quickly, listening to the sound of footsteps overhead and drawers opening. She heard muffled voices, Frank and Joe talking about something, before the footsteps came closer to the stairs and began to descend.

“Hey, stop doing the dishes; that's my job,” Joe said as he came around the corner of the kitchen. A small package was in one hand, wrapped in gold paper.

“You made milkshakes; and I'm almost done, just one more spoon to rinse.” Jacelyn looked back at Joe as he sat on the stool, hiding her smile behind her hair as she turned back to finishing the dishes.

She towelled her hands off quickly, sliding the rings back on. A Celtic knot adorned the middle finger of her left hand, accompanied by a twisted band on the pinky. Her class ring graced her right ring finger. The rings were the only pieces of jewelry she wore consistently, earrings and necklaces collecting dust in her jewelry box.

“You know, you really didn't have to get me any souvenirs; I have enough stuff in my room as it is, Joe.” She sat down opposite Joe as she spoke, brushing a strand of hair out of her face as she did.

“I know, but I knew you'd really like these. Or, at least I hope you like them. I found them in a tourist shop the day we captured the guy, after I texted you.” He placed the package, which was about three inches square, on the counter between them, and Jacelyn picked it up slowly.

“Did you wrap this? Because this is wrapped really well,” she laughed.

“No, I had the shopkeeper wrap it for me; but I picked out the paper.”

Jacelyn flipped the package over, running a finger under the tape. She peeled the paper off, smiling as she uncovered a plain brown box. Another piece of tape sealed the box, and she ripped that off to stick to Joe's arm that stretched out on the countertop.

The first thing she saw when she opened the flaps of the box was a small bundle of tissue paper, tied with a ribbon. She undid the ribbon slowly, setting the bundle on the table to push the paper out of the way.

“No way. Joe!” The paper revealed a small ring, the Parisian skyline glinting back in silver at her. She slid it on her right pinky quickly, staring down at it. “How did you know what size? Or that I'd been trying to find another ring?”

“I remembered you complaining about Rue21's rings once. And I just kind of guessed, you know, on the size.” Joe rubbed the back of his neck, staring at Jacelyn's hand.

Jacelyn crumpled the ball of tissue paper up, setting it aside to dig deeper into the small box. Another larger bundle of tissue paper was on the bottom under a flat square of paper, and it crinkled of plastic as she picked it up. She tore the taped paper apart, uncovering a small black Eiffel Tower keychain.

“Thank you, so much, Joe. Come here.” Jacelyn stood up, walking around the counter to give the younger Hardy boy a hug.

“You're welcome. I'm glad you like them. Returning them if you didn't was going to be a giant mess, you know.”

***

Jacelyn and the Hardy boys sat underneath the tree in the Hardys' yard, munching on apples. It had been a week since the case of the walking mummy as Jacelyn called it, and she was starting to wonder when the vacation would end for the boys.

“When am I gonna get to put all my experience to use and come on a case with you guys? I've been the stay at home Watson to your Holmeses for years.”

“We can't really bring you on cases, Jacelyn. There's no telling how dangerous it could get from one moment to the next,” Joe answered.

“What about one on a train? That couldn't be too dangerous, could it? Going on a train ride sounds fun.” Jacelyn threw her apple core into the yard, hitting the birdfeeder and startling the birds away.

“Funny you should say that. That's actually what our next one is,” Frank replied from the blanket he was laying on. He rolled over onto his stomach in order to look at Jacelyn better. “It sounds pretty stable from what Dad was telling us. This heiress bought a train that belonged to this miner; he disappeared way back when and there's rumours his secret mine was a jackpot. She wants us to find the mine. We leave in three days.”

“We already said we were bringing Nancy with us, Frank,” Joe cut in. “Don't get her hopes up like that.”

“I'm sure Lori would let you bring Jacelyn if you asked her; I'm not sure how many sleeping compartments there are, though. Nance and Jace might have to share a compartment. You wouldn't mind sharing with her, would you?”

“No, it would be pretty fun actually. But Joe doesn't seem too sold on the idea, so maybe I should sit this one out. Again.”

Frank looked over at Joe, who hit him in the arm. The two stared at each other for a moment, a silent conversation going on. Finally, Frank sighed.

“Yeah, maybe we shouldn't push our luck with Lori Girard. I'm sure we'll get a nice easy case sometime soon that you can join us on.”

**_If only I could be so lucky. It'd probably be the case of the missing peanut butter and jelly sandwich; the culprit would be Joe._ **

***

“What do you mean she just vanished? How can someone just vanish while they're on a train surrounded by six other people? That doesn't make any sense! She wasn't kidnapped; no one else was missing, unless it was a stowaway.” Jacelyn picked up the banana she had dropped when her phone rang unexpectedly.

“Nancy is busy talking to all the suspects while we guard the dining room and research what we can. There's really not much to do, to be honest. We talked to John Grey a bit, but he might just be a little too into the ghost thing for him to be useful,” Frank answered.

Jacelyn could hear his vest rustle as he moved, followed by a muffled sigh. He was probably leaning back in the chair, his feet on the table with the laptop on his lap.

“So you don't really need me to research when you guys are covering that, do you? Just call me if you need help from the outside world; I'd love to be useful.”

“Will do. Sorry, by the way. Bye.”

“Bye.”

**_This case is the worst ever and I'm not even there._ **

***

Jacelyn lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She punched at the mattress half-heartedly, groaning as she thought about her day.

**_This would've been the perfect case for me to join them, and they don't bring me. They brought Nancy Drew, though. Well, she has solved a bunch of mysteries so I guess that's fair enough. But I could solve cases too. I could be a lot of help, couldn't I? I'm their researcher; I find all the shit out for them while they're busy chasing suspects and finding hidden doors. I should be there researching and they could be finding the mine. And Lori what's her name too, I guess._ **

Tears started pooling in her eyes, and she wiped at them angrily with a blanket.

**_Maybe they don't like me as much as I think they do. I mean I know Frank has the biggest crush on Nancy in the history of crushes, but he's my friend. But they've brought Chet on cases. And Iola. Hell, I think Frank brought Callie on a case once when they were dating. But they never bring me. They probably felt bad for me when I moved here and they can't figure out how to get me to leave them alone. Maybe I should stop talking to them as much and they'll realize I figured out they don't like me._ **

Jacelyn's body shook as she began crying, turning over to bury her face in her pillow. She gripped it tight as she cried harder, all the stress and worry coming out finally. She cried like that for several minutes, her sobs turning to whimpers as she cried herself out. She wiped her eyes angrily again, feeling around on the nightstand for the box of kleenex to blow her nose. Her hand landed on her phone, and she felt it vibrate.

Sighing, she pulled up the messages thread to find three new texts.

Message from Joe Received at 2228

|Hey, are you busy?

|I just want to talk over the case so far.

Message from Joe Received at 2230

|You're not already asleep, are u?

Jacelyn blanked the screen, running a hand over her face. She set the phone back on the nightstand, getting up to wash her face. When she came back, she picked up the phone again.

Message to Joe Sent at 2235

|Sorry, was brushing my teeth and getting coffee ready for morning. What's up?

Her phone rang a moment later, Joe on the other end.

“What have you been up to since we're not calling you for help?” A smile was clearly evident through the phoneline, even with the hushed nature. “Cutting the plants and watering the grass?”

Jacelyn laughed softly, the sound hollow even to her own ears. “Well, I've been watching tv all day today since it was my day off from everything.” Jacelyn knew her voice sounded off, and she prayed Joe wouldn't notice.

Joe's mood shifted instantly, all joking gone from his voice. “Why have you been crying? Did something happen?”

“Nothing happened, Joe. It's nothing. Tell me about the case.” Jacelyn pasted a fake smile on her face, hoping the act would brighten her voice.

“First you tell me why you're upset. Who do I need to beat up for you?”

“No one. I'm just being weepy today; nothing you can do about it.”

“Something is bothering you. Frank noticed when he called after Lori disappeared, and even when we called to see if you could find stuff about Hurley's conductor something was up. Spill the deets.”

Jacelyn ran a hand over her face, sighing in defeat. If she wanted to hear about the case, she'd have to tell Joe something. She just hoped it wasn't the last thing she said to him for a long time.

“Fine. I'm upset because you guys never take me on cases. This sounds like a safe case, and you bring Nancy, but not me. Like I had just said that I wanted to go on a case on a train before Frank mentioned this case, and you still shoot me down. I just feel like I'm second class or something right now. But just forget I said any of that, okay? I didn't want to tell you that. I should never have told you that; I'm a giant fucking idiot.”

Jacelyn hung up quickly before Joe could say anything. A few heartbeats later her phone rang, and she sighed as she answered it. “What?”

“I'm sorry. You're not second class or something. Frank – we – wanted to actually solve a case with Nancy; you know Frank's been in love with her for forever but he's never been able to work with her before.”

“Frank had said I could come too, that day, but then you said I couldn't because it was quote unquote too dangerous. What's that about, Joe?”

“I like having you not with us and working on cases. You're our connection to the outside world. If you came on cases with us, we wouldn't have someone on the outside to look in on the case. And if you came with us, we wouldn't have that.”

“Okay. I gu - I guess that hearing it that way I understand. I'll stop asking to go on cases.” She wiped her eyes again, new tears sprouting. “Good night.”

She hung up again, putting the phone on the nightstand. She ignored it as it started ringing, only touching it to turn off the ringer. Once she knew it had stopped, she turned it to vibrate, listening as it vibrated with new texts. After a few minutes, it stopped.

***

In the morning, Jacelyn felt slightly better about life, but then the conversations of the night before came back to her. She picked up the phone, staring at the screen.

1 Missed call from Joe at 2250

7 Messages from Joe Received at 2255

|I'm sorry I made you cry. Both times.

|It's not that I don't want you to come on cases, because I do want you to, it's that I think you're the most help when you're not with us.

|Like I said, you've been so much help to us. You've helped us out so many times, when we're stumped on something so we call you and talk about it and then you tell us the answer like it's the most obvious thing ever.

|You're probably not going to talk to me for a while, are you?

|Nancy found Lori today; she was hiding in the caboose. It was all a trick, to add mystery to it.

|We'll probably get to Copper Gorge tomorrow morning; I'll text u when we get there.

|Goodnight

She sighed, reading the messages over again.

**_I should probably apologize for hanging up on him. I just couldn't with it anymore. Ugh._ **

_*blipblipbleeeep*_

**_Or he could text me first. I guess that works too. He has impeccable timing somehow. Now if he could have ordered me a pizza to get here in like five minutes, that'd be even better timing. I'm counting on you, Joe._ **

Message from Joe Received at 0821

|We just got to Copper Gorge. Me and Frank are gonna go explore the town. Cell service might be sketchy since we're in the mountains.

Message to Joe Sent at 0823

|Glad you made it safely. Have fun exploring the town. Don't get lost on a mountain lol

|I'm sorry about last night. I'm sure you didn't want to deal with that shit when you're on a case. Forgive me?

Message from Joe Received at 0824

|Of course I forgive you!

|Why wouldn't I forgive you? You've forgived me whenever I mess up, and that's a lot worse than last night.

Message to Joe Sent at 0825

|Thanks. Text me later; I wanna know what you find out out there.

Message from Joe Received at 0825

|Of course.

***

_*Yo Jacelyn, pick up your phone. Pick up the phone, Jacelyn. Pick up the phone. Jacelyn-*_

“Hey Joe! What's up? What's going on out there? Haven't heard from you all day.”

“Well reception is shitty out here and then it got even worse when we headed into the desert because Nancy found the mine and then we had to hop off the train when we noticed Nancy was gone and then the whole mess of paperwork when we got back to civilization. So we'll be back in two days I think; overnight to Union Station, and then fly from O'Hare to JFK. So maybe tomorrow afternoon actually.”

“Okay, Joe, you skipped like three of the details. So why don't you rewind to this morning after you texted me and we'll go from there? Also, let me get my casebook.” Jacelyn ran up the flight of stairs, taking the steps two at a time as best as she could.

Joe hummed as Jacelyn rushed around her room before sitting at her desk.

“Okay, hit me with the story.”

Thirty minutes later and Jacelyn had another case written and completed, drawings of the slugs and gems littering the margins. She leaned back in her chair, sighing.

“So, from what you told me, Nancy did pretty much all the work. So no cheeseburgers for you for this case.”

“Hey, I did some research! Not as much as you normally do for us, though.”

“Maybe I'll buy you one cheeseburger,” Jacelyn laughed. Her laugh was cut short by a yawn, which she did her best to stifle.

“Hey, you're tired, I'm tired; I say it's time for bed. I'll text you when we get into Chicago. Night Jace.”

“Night Joe. Sleep well.”

“You too. Oh, and you won't believe the stuff I found at the tourist trap in Copper Gorge.”

“I can't wait to see it. Night.”

***

Jacelyn ran to the Hardy's front door, using the take-out bag to try to cover her head from the downpour. The storm had gone from a soft sprinkle to a torrent in the matter of a few seconds, leaving Jacelyn to be soaked by the rain as she walked from her car to the Hardy's house.

She banged on the door, her back growing soaked as the wind swept the rain under the eaves. Frank answered the door after a moment, ushering her in silently before closing the door on the storm. Inside, the sound of the blender could be heard over the rain on the roof.

“Geez, Jacelyn, you look like you went swimming,” he said as she took her shoes off.

“Yeah, I wasn't expecting this,” she gestured outside, “to happen so I didn't have my umbrella. Could I have a towel to dry off?”

Joe peered around the corner from the kitchen as the blender went silent, drawn by the sound of voices in the foyer.

“Wow you're soaked,” he said, looking over Jacelyn. “Go dry off upstairs; the towels are on a shelf in the bathroom.”

“I'll be down in a minute.” Jacelyn squished upstairs, a trail of water marking her progress. She went in the bathroom, shucking her t-shirt quickly. She took her valuables out of her jeans, setting them on the countertop before undoing the button and zipper to slide the wet denim off.

“I'm so glad I took a shower this morning,” she mumbled, grabbing a towel from the shelf beside the shower. She dried off quickly, wringing her hair out over the sink. She laid her wet clothes over the side of the tub, letting them start to dry as she wrapped the towel around her waist. Sighing, she took her socks off to dry too before venturing into the hallway.

She avoided the noisy floorboards as best she could as she made her way down and across the hall to the boys' room. She opened and closed the door quietly, the latch clicking softly as it set. Looking around, she spotted the dressers that held the boys' clothes and moved towards them. The dresser on the left displayed trophies bearing Frank's name, and she detoured to the other dresser before sliding a drawer open.

She carefully rifled through the drawer, closing it after not finding any shirts. She opened the drawer beneath it, smiling when she saw it held t-shirts. She sorted through them quickly, drawing one out with a grin. The Marvel t-shirt was one of Joe's favorites, the design cracked and faded from repeated wear and washing.

She pulled the shirt on, pulling her hair out from under the collar before closing the drawer. She searched two more drawers, finally finding a pair of sweatpants that would fit. The joggers bunched around her ankles more than usual, her legs being a bit shorter than Joe's. She didn't bother searching for socks, instead returning to the bathroom to collect her clothes and paraphernalia. She bundled the wet clothes into the towel, carrying it downstairs with her in one hand while the other held her phone and wallet.

“Hey, we were starting to think-,” Joe began as he heard Jacelyn come down the stairs. He paused as he caught sight of her, then started again a heartbeat later. “We were starting to think you got lost or something you were taking so long.”

Jacelyn pretended to not notice how Joe had paused, his eyes growing wide as she walked towards him. “Sorry; I tried drying my clothes with the towel as best I could, but it didn't work too well. Can I throw these in the dryer?”

“Yeah, of course. It's in the basement.”

“Thanks,” she called behind her as she started down the next flight of stairs. If she grinned at Joe's reaction to her in his clothes, neither of the Hardy boys was the wiser for it.

***

“You know, this shake really hit the spot; never forget the classics,” Jacelyn said later, finishing the treat with a slurp.

“Sometimes the familiar things are the best,” Joe answered. “Let me go get what I got you.”

“If you keep buying me souvenirs, I'm going to run out of places to put them!” She called after him. She stood up, washing the dishes as usual while Joe rummaged in his room for the package.

“I know it's kind of a cheesy thing, but it was just so cheesy I had to get it for you,” Joe said as he sat back down at the counter. He presented a scarcely wrapped cylinder, bubblewrap visible beneath the tissue paper.

“Okay, I know you wrapped this one,” Jacelyn replied. “I'm guessing it's breakable, since it's bubblewrapped.” She tore the tissue off, then started on the bubblewrap. The tip of her tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth as she worked at delicately pulling the tape off the bubblewrap without flinging its contents to the far reaches of the kitchen. Eventually, she managed to undo all the tape, unrolling the three feet of wrapping that Joe had done around the coffee mug and bag of taffy.

“Ooooh, I love taffy. That's right, the museum was a taffy shop too! Mmmm, what flavors await my tastebuds?” She unwrapped one of the pieces of taffy, popping it in her mouth. “Banana. I love banana taffy.”

She turned her attention to the coffee mug, spinning it around to read the side. “Thank you, Joe. It's almost like I went there myself.”

“You didn't miss much, to be honest.”

The dryer beeped then, and Jacelyn scooted off the stool to retrieve her clothes. She didn't catch the way Joe's eyes followed her down the stairs.

***

“You're going to Hawai'i? I'm so jealous. Take me with you,” Jacelyn said, flopping back onto the bed.

Two months had passed since the Hurley mine was found, and the boys had solved a few cases since then. Jacelyn had continued to fill her casebook with notes and drawings, and continued to wish she could join the Hardys on a case.

“It sounds really lame to be honest, Jace. We're just doing background checks on this guy and his daughter who run a tourist resort thing. Something about the daughter is a surfer and this company that contacted ATAC wants her as their spokesperson or something. If it wasn't for Hawai'i, I'd have turned it down,” Joe replied. He was busy packing his suitcase, shorts and t-shirts a stark contrast to the thermal shirt Jacelyn wore. It was almost November, which meant Bayport was growing colder.

“And the money and that we can't turn down an ATAC case,” Frank added from the other side of the room. “It sounds easy, so it'll be a nice change of pace from the past couple cases. We'll be sure to take lots of pictures and call you a lot.”

“Just take me with you just this once. I can buy my own plane ticket there, guys. I've never been to Hawai'i before.”

“Neither have we. And we can't take you with; honestly, telling you about ATAC cases is breaking a rule. But since we know you aren't actually an evil supervillian...,” Frank laughed.

“Or is she? Maybe that's why she's always with us; she wants to concoct the perfect crime,” Joe stage-whispered.

Jacelyn grabbed a pillow from beside her, throwing it at Joe. He threw it back, then grabbed it back to start hitting her with. She grabbed the other pillow from the bed, standing up on the bed to have the height advantage. Joe quickly followed her onto the bed, the two dancing around the suitcase that was in the middle as they hit each other. After a few minutes Joe dropped his pillow, ducking under Jacelyn's attack to go around her. He wrapped his arms around her middle, pinning her arms to her sides.

“I win,” he laughed.

“Curse you, Perry the Platypus! Now let go.”

“Only if you promise to make me lunch,” Joe replied.

“Sandwich?”

“Sure.”

“Knuckle?”

“No thanks. Ham and cheese, please.”

“Fine. I promise.”

***

“You'll never guess who we ran into on the beach,” Joe said as soon as Jacelyn picked up the phone.

“Kane O'kala?”

“No; Nancy. Wait, how'd you know about Kane O'kala?”

“I research, so I researched. I bet Frank was happy to see Nancy; hope you two didn't hurt her when you ran into her.”

“Haha, very funny. Frank was ecstatic to see her. She's here to help some bug doctor; she left not too long ago.”

“How goes your case?”

“So far it's smooth sailing. We can't find anything on them yet. We've been fishing and collecting shells and making necklaces. We sell the shell necklaces to Big Island Mike for Big Island Bucks. I saved you one though.”

“Thanks. If I ever get a chance to go to the Caribbean, I promise I'll send you lots of pictures and torture you with details,” Jacelyn replied.

***

Jacelyn stared down at her phone as it rang, the elder Hardy's face staring back at her from the screen. After a moment, she swiped left to answer. “Hey Frank. What's up?”

“Joe's in the hospital; he got a concussion,” Frank sighed.

“How the hell do you get a concussion while collecting seashells?”

“He caught a mask to the face when he was snooping in Big Island Mike's cabinets. He's doing fine, but they're keeping him there for observation. And Nancy is stuck on the other side of the island; the bridge she went over washed out in a storm.”

“So it's just you on this case, huh? Lemme know if you need help, okay? I don't think I've lost my skill at researching quite yet. And tell Joe I hope he's better soon.”

“Will do. Talk to you later.”

***

“Knock knock,” Jacelyn said softly, standing on the other side of the Hardy boys' bedroom door. The door was open a crack, and she pushed it open with her hip after receiving an invitation from the inhabitant. “How's your head?” She asked, setting the cheeseburgers on the nightstand. Two chocolate milkshakes followed the food before she sat down at the end of the messy bed.

“It's fine. The docs cleared me of side-effects before I left the hospital. Thanks for bringing food; and milkshakes,” Joe answered, sitting up from the mass of blankets he was buried in. He scratched at his chest as he yawned, his hair sticking up in all directions. Jacelyn didn't bite her cheek to keep from smiling at the sight; she bit her lip instead.

“No problem; you've brought me chocolate when my uterus is hating me, so I can bring food when you're concussed.”

“We'll have to go to Hawai'i sometime, the two of us,” Joe said as he patted his hair down. “I didn't get to spend much time there and you've never been.”

“Sounds like a plan. I was just teasing, you know, about going to the Caribbean and torturing you with details.”

“I know. I'm sorry we couldn't take you with us.” Joe took a bite of the burger, grinning as he did. “This tastes really good today. Maybe it's the concussion.”

“Yeah, probably is. I doubt they put unicorn dust in the patties,” Jacelyn laughed.

“Oh, I almost forgot about the necklace! It's in my t-shirt drawer. Go ahead and get it out.”

Jacelyn walked over to the dresser, squatting down to open the specified drawer. She dug around the front of the stacks of shirts, her fingers finally touching something hard beneath a layer of paper. She pulled the small package out, closing the drawer before standing back up. She sat back down on the bed, careful not to disturb the burgers.

“You said you made this?” Jacelyn asked as she started unwrapping it.

“Yeah. I wasn't able to get many shells, so this was the only one I could make. I mean, the only kind I made; I made a lot of these ones,” Joe explained.

After she had finished unwrapping it, Jacelyn stared down at the necklace in her hands. She ran a finger over the shells after a moment. A large white shell with black spots was the centerpiece, and brown and white smaller shells alternated along the rest of the cord. It was a simple necklace, but that didn't detract from its beauty.

“It's beautiful, Joe. Thank you so much.” She wiped at her eyes hurriedly, clutching the necklace to her chest.

“You're welcome. Try it on; I wanna see how it looks on you.”

She slid the necklace on over her head, centering the large shell. “How's it look?” She asked, pulling her hair back so the necklace was more visible.

“It looks great on you; like it was made for you.”

Jacelyn ducked her head at the compliment, reaching up to touch it with her right hand. Her two rings caught the light, glinting at Joe.

“I know you don't wear necklaces much,” he continued, “but I thought it was the least I could do. I would've made you a cooler one if I hadn't gotten a concussion.”

“I'll wear this one, Joe. Thank you.”

***

_*blipblipbleeeep*_

Message from Joe Received at 1224

|Hey, come over! I gotta show you something!!

Message to Joe Sent at 1225

|Gimme 20; I'm eating lunch real quick.

**_I wonder what's up? It couldn't be a case, could it? Well, it's been a couple weeks since Hawai'i, so maybe. Maybe this is my chance to go on a case with them. I won't hold my breath though._ **

Jacelyn finished her sandwich a few minutes later, sliding the plate into the sink to wash when she got back home. The drive to the Hardy's was short, though she was delayed by the layer of frost she'd had to scrape from the windshield and windows.

Joe met her at the door, swinging it open as she walked up the sidewalk. “Hey, you're late!”

“The roads are a bit slick after the snow last night. Brr, it's cold out there.” Jacelyn took her coat off quickly, hanging it on one of the hooks beside the door. “What was it you wanted to show me?”

“Come on, it's on my laptop.” Joe grabbed her wrist, leading her over to the couch. He plopped down, Jacelyn following him. He pulled the computer onto his lap, waking it up with a slide of the touchpad. “So, I know it's not Hawai'i, but I thought it might be fun. It'd be an early Christmas present, you know; and birthday present.”

Jacelyn looked at the screen then, her eyes growing wide at what she saw. “Ohmygosh Joe. No way. No fucking way.”

An Amtrak itinerary stared back at her, its first destination Chicago. A day later, the second leg would begin, with San Diego the final stop on the crosscountry journey.

“I haven't bought the tickets yet because I wasn't sure if you'd go for it, but it'd be the end of this week probably. Leave Friday morning and get to Chicago the next morning, spend the day and night in Chicago, and then leave Sunday afternoon for San Diego. Get into the city on Tuesday right after noon, spend a few days there if you want, and then fly back to Bayport. We'd have a sleeper, of course, for most of the trip. The only time we wouldn't would be down to Pittsburgh to catch the overnight to Chicago and then the two hour ride to San Diego from LAX.

“Or we could just go to Colorado and come back if you don't want to spend all that time on a train,” Joe finished.

“No, San Diego sounds nice. We might get snowed in in Colorado.” **_That'd be an awful shame, to get stuck somewhere with him. Just the two of us... wait. We're gonna be sharing a sleeper car for three days. I like the sound of this._ **“But how much is it to get to San Diego? And that only gives us like three days to pack; today's Monday.”

“Price is not important. Just give me a minute to add these to the cart and then we'll be set. And you and I both know we'd pack the night before even if we left in a month.”

“No, tell me how much it'd be first. We can split it; you know I've been saving money for a roadtrip.” Jacelyn elbowed him in the side.

“It's a gift! Don't ask how much gifts are! Hey!”

Jacelyn attempted grabbing the laptop, but Joe picked it up. He held it out to the other side, making Jacelyn reach across his lap to try to get it. She reached too far, losing her balance to fall crossways on Joe's lap. He set the device on her back, essentially pinning her down.

“You know, this is actually the perfect height for computing. I should have you on my lap more often,” Joe joked.

“Glad I could be of service,” Jacelyn grumbled. She listened to the sound of Joe typing on the computer, inputting his payment info into the Amtrak website. After a few minutes, she grabbed a pillow from the end of the couch, using it prop her head up.

“Thank you,” she said after a moment, her voice muffled by the pillow, “for the train ride. It's really sweet of you to do something like this. I know it can't be cheap at all. I’ll pay for all the food along the way.”

“You're welcome. And I've been saving up money from cases like a dragon; this gives me a good way to spend it. Make memories, you know.”

Jacelyn nodded, mulling over what Joe had said – and what he hadn't said.

“Okay, we're all set. I'll print the tickets out and then we'll be good to go,” Joe said a moment later. He shut the laptop, lifting it off Jacelyn's back. She didn't move, however. “You aren't asleep; get up.

“No; I'm comfy.”

“Fine.” Joe stretched out, finally setting the laptop on the table in front of him. “You wanna watch a movie?”

“Sure. Captain America?”

“Yeah. Hand me the remotes; they're under the other pillow by your head.”

***

Frank clunked down the stairs, sending Nancy a text about her latest case as he did. He slid his phone into his pocket before rounding the corner into the living room, then stopped. He pulled the phone out a moment later, needing to capture pictures of what he saw.

Jacelyn was still sprawled across Joe's lap, her chest rising and falling with the rhythm of sleep. Joe's head was flung back, his mouth gaping as he snored quietly. The movie had ended, the tv displaying the Roku's screensaver.

“Nancy's gonna get a kick out of this,” Frank whispered as he took a picture of his brother and friend. He sent the picture quickly, silencing his phone.

***

“Okay, so we should leave at like 7 tomorrow morning so we know we'll get to Penn Station on time. Even though our train leaves at 10:50, I'd rather be early. We can get breakfast while we're there,” Jacelyn said, looking at Google Maps. “Well, second breakfast.”

She was on the Hardy's couch with her legs folded beneath her, Joe on one side of her as he flipped through channels on the tv. Frank was sitting in the recliner, kindle in hand. A bowl of popcorn sat on the endtable beside him. Outside, flurries of snow twinkled under the streetlight glow.

“It should only take 90 minutes to get there,” Frank piped in, not looking up.

“Friday morning, Frank; traffic is going to be insane. Maybe we should leave earlier,” Jacelyn replied, hiding her grin behind her hand. She closed the computer, setting it on the table. She grabbed the bowl of M&Ms, putting them on her lap.

“No. Hire a taxi if you're going to leave before 7, because I'm not. Remember, I have to drive back home after dropping you two off.”

“Fine. I guess it's a good thing I'm staying the night, then; you guys don't have to leave even earlier to pick me up.”

“Are you sure you want the couch? Because you can sleep in my bed and I can take the couch,” Joe said, turning the tv off and looking over at her.

“I'm sure; I don't think I'd be able to sleep with Frank's snoring,” Jacelyn laughed, throwing an M&M at Frank.

“Oh, did Joe tell you I'm the one who snores? It's actually him; like a bear.” Frank threw a piece of popcorn at Jacelyn, hitting her in the nose. A foodfight quickly began, Joe joining in with M&Ms from Jacelyn's bowl. The fight ended as quickly as it began, disrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat from the doorway.

“Hey Dad! We were just making sure the food was aerodynamic,” Joe answered the look his father gave him.

Fenton Hardy harrumphed at the mess, turning to go into the kitchen. “Just clean it all up before your mother sees,” he said.

“Yes sir.”

***

Jacelyn followed Joe down the platform, pulling her suitcase behind her as they looked for the door to the railcar. They showed their tickets to the conductor as they boarded, then found their seats. She shoved her suitcase into the overhead compartment, Joe following suit. Joe took the window seat, and Jacelyn plopped down next to him.

“Well, we made it onboard with 15 minutes to spare,” Joe said, looking down at his watch. “I'm glad you suggested we leave so early though.”

“We got out of the house half an hour later than we had planned because you couldn't find your kindle,” Jacelyn groaned.

“But we made it here by 10 and got second breakfast still. And in my defense, you'd already packed it without telling me. And then you just had to take a shower so you'd smell good this morning.” Joe elbowed her gently, grinning.

“I thought I told you I packed it. Just another sign that I need coffee in the mornings to function.” She withdrew the aforementioned device from her bookbag, handing it to Joe before pulling her knitting out. Her kindle followed the knitting out, earbuds wrapped around the case.

“If you laugh at me, I'm going to stab you with this hook,” she said, not looking up from the yarn. Red, blue, and white made up zig-zagging stripes, the fibre variegated to make the design.

“I wasn't going to laugh; I think it's cool. What are you making?”

“A scarf. It's not for you, Joe. Hey, don't give me that look; if you want me to make you a scarf, all you have to do is ask.”

“Wait, that doesn't look like knitting. You've got a board. What is this witchcraft?”

“It's a knitting board. It turns out knitted stuff a lot faster than the two needle method. And it's warmer. I can teach you how to do it sometime, if you want. I mean, we're gonna be on a train for pretty much the next four days.”

“Maybe when we head for San Diego.” Joe opened the kindle's cover with a flick of his wrist, the screen coming on automatically. He stretched his legs out in the spacious area in front of him, one of the perks of business class seats. “Only nine more hours until we get to Pittsburgh,” he sighed.

“And then four hours of lay-over in Pittsville,” Jacelyn replied.

“We can get dinner while we wait, you know.”

“Can't wait. Hopefully there's a Chinese place in the station.” With that, Jacelyn popped her earbuds in and turned on her audiobook.

***

“Hey, lemme see what's in your bag,” Joe said a few hours later, nudging Jacelyn.

“It's literally nothing but my knitting shit, man. I think there's another ball and some needles if you want to make a potholder,” Jacelyn answered.

“You suck,” Joe whispered. He reached down, pulling Jacelyn's bag closer to him so he could rifle through it. She mock-glared at him, but he didn't notice. After a moment, he grinned triumphantly. “I knew it!” He pulled a sandwich in a ziplock bag out, zipping the compartment he'd found it in back up.

“Hey, that's for lunch. We had second breakfast four hours ago.”

“Yeah, I know; I'm starving.” Joe took the sandwich out of its bag, taking a large bite of it. “I really should've found a water bottle first,” he said, his words garbled by the peanut butter and jelly.

“I'll go get you one from the snack car; I'll be right back.”

True to her word, Jacelyn returned a few moments later, two bottles of water in hand. She unscrewed the lid from one, handing it to Joe. He accepted it gratefully, downing half of it quickly to help wash the peanut butter down.

“You're going to go refill that yourself, right?” Jacelyn quirked an eyebrow at Joe.

He nodded, continuing eating his sandwich. Jacelyn took out her own sandwich, beginning to eat a moment later.

***

“Hey, we're almost to Pittsburgh,” Joe said, nudging Jacelyn's elbow. She held up a finger, pausing her book before speaking.

“What?”

“We're almost to Pittsburgh; the train is going to turn around when we get to the station. I sure hope you're good at jumping.”

“Hardy-har-har. It's not like I've heard that joke before, Hardy.” Jacelyn rolled her eyes, then started packing her bag up.

The train glided into the station, the brakes grinding to a halt as the conductor walked up and down the aisles yelling, “Pittsburgh! Last stop, Pittsburgh!”

Jacelyn stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulders before pulling her suitcase down from the overhead compartment. She started walking down the length of the car, ducking into an empty row of seats to let Joe catch up.

After retrieving his own luggage, Joe paused at the row Jacelyn stood in. He gestured for her to go ahead, putting a hand on the small of her back as she pushed her suitcase infront of her. Once the two reached the platform they walked side by side, Joe's hand continuing to rest on her back. The gesture was equal parts gentle guidance, protection, and a way to stay together. If anyone decided to not approach Jacelyn because of it, Joe considered it an extra benefit.

Joe's eyes constantly scanned the station as they neared the food court, checking for dangers as Jacelyn searched for dinner options. Even when he wasn't on a case, Joe was ever the detective.

“Hey, I found a Chinese place if that sounds good still,” Jacelyn said, breaking into Joe's surveying. She pointed at the restaurant-front she mentioned, her turning slightly into Joe's arm with the motion.

“Yeah, Chinese sounds great.”

Joe led them to the restaurant, only surrendering his hold of Jacelyn to pick up a tray for the food.

After ordering and receiving their food, the detective and friend found a table amongst the mostly-deserted food court. Since it was nine at night on a Friday, most people were already at their destinations. They ate in relative silence, the murmur of people talking and music playing the only noise.

***

Jacelyn lay on her back on the long wooden bench, head in Joe's lap as they waited for their train. Her fingers flew along the yarn, adding row upon row to the scarf as time ticked slowly by. Her backpack was between her legs, one foot touching the floor. Joe had his kindle open, though his gaze shifted from it to Jacelyn intermittently. His arm stretched along the back of the bench, hand dangling down to touch the yarn occasionally as it wound from the ball to the board.

Jacelyn tilted her head back to look at Joe before saying, “how much longer until our train?”

“Only two and a half more hours. I set an alarm for 11:30 so we don't lose track of time.”

Joe grinned as he heard the start of _Sway_ , though it was Buble instead of Rosemary Clooney. He stood up, making Jacelyn look at him curiously. “May I have this dance?” He asked, holding his hand out, a broad grin on his face.

“Do you still remember the steps from last year?” She responded, moving the stuff off her lap and taking Joe's hand.

“Of course I do. Do you?” He pulled her up, leading her a bit away from their luggage.

Jacelyn laughed, taking up the starting position. It started out with salsa steps, the two quickly spinning out to one side and then the other. They continued to salsa around in a circle, spinning back and forth. Joe dipped her, pulling her back up with ease before they started spinning again. Jacelyn spun around, Joe's arms crossing in front of her as she held his hands. They took a few steps forward, Jacelyn falling backwards on the line “make me weak.”

The song finally ended after many iterations of the same steps, Jacelyn staring up at Joe as he dipped her one last time. Her breathing was a bit fast, whether from the dancing or Joe's hand just above her ass as he held her up she wasn't sure.

After a few heartbeats she stood up straight, the sound of applause coming into focus from the few people in the lobby. Joe smiled at her as she walked back to the bench, following her after a moment. He picked up his kindle again, turning it on as Jacelyn laid back down.

“I can't believe you still remember that from the talent show last year,” Jacelyn laughed, craning her neck to look back at him.

“We should've won first prize for it,” he answered, looking down at her. “But the ventriloquist was pretty good too.”

An old lady approached them then, stopping infront of their bench. “You two make such a lovely couple,” she said. “How long have you been together?

“Oh, actually, we're not together,” Jacelyn stammered out. She didn't look at Joe as she spoke, not wanting him to see the look in her eyes.

“Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you two; it just seemed...,” the old lady trailed off.

“We get that a lot; we've been best friends for years,” Joe replied.

The old lady wished them safe travels then, walking back to where she had been sitting on the other side of the large lobby.

“Well that was weird,” Jacelyn whispered. “That's actually the first time I've gotten that, though. Why'd you say we get that a lot?”

“I figured it'd make her feel better if she thought she wasn't the first to think it.”

“I guess that makes sense. How much longer until our train?” Jacelyn looked back at her knitting, starting to work again.

“Two hours and twenty minutes,” Joe sighed.

***

“Hey, I think this is it; Cabin 21,” Joe said, stopping infront of a door. Jacelyn followed behind, letting Joe find what they were looking for.

“Thank God; I have to pee so badly,” Jacelyn muttered.

She looked around the cabin once Joe had entered, sighing. “For some reason, I was thinking it was going to be bigger.”

The seats and chair were a dark blue colour, the carpeting a lighter blue shade. Dark granite covered the vanity counter with its stainless steel fixtures, the wooden cabinets a mahogany colour to match the wall paneling.

She maneuvered around the armchair, setting her suitcase and backpack on the sofa seat before turning into the bathroom.

“Well, I guess peeing in the shower is a lot easier with this set-up,” she called from the stall.

“Why's that?” Joe pulled the top berth down from the wall, setting the luggage up there for the moment after securing the latches on the bed.

“Because the toilet is in the shower. Come look at this!”

Jacelyn walked out of the shower/toilet stall, sliding past Joe to get to the sink to wash her hands.

Joe peered into the stall, nodding at the setup. He walked back to the berths, bending down to find the switches on the sofa to pull it out. “I think the bedding is in the cabinets under the sink,” he said, gesturing at the cabinet he meant.

Jacelyn opened the door, reaching in blindly. She pulled the sheets and blankets out, tossing them onto the armchair to begin searching for the pillows. Joe slid the sofa out, bumping into Jacelyn before he climbed onto the large mattress.

“Okay, I found the pillows. Now to put the sheets on. I hate this part,” Jacelyn mumbled. She picked up the sheets, stretching the fitted one out to see if it was the top or bottom berth's. “Here, this is for the one you're on. I'd say I'd do the top bunk, but there's luggage on it.”

“We'll do that bunk in a minute; help me with this.”

Jacelyn stood back, watching as Joe flopped from one end of the bed to the other in attempts to get the sheet onto the bed. After a moment she couldn't contain her laughter anymore, doubling over as Joe huffed and grew more impatient.

“Are you going to just stand there and laugh?” Joe said, stopping to look over at her.

“You're trying to put the short end on the long end,” she answered. “Stand up.”

Joe did as she said, taking the proffered end of the sheet once she had turned it the right way. They worked in tandem, pulling the sheet to opposite ends of the bed to tuck under the mattress. Jacelyn picked up the sheet, shaking it out for Joe to catch one end. They finished making the lower berth quickly, giving the pillows a few experimental thwacks before setting them at the head of the bed.

The train lurched forward as it started moving, unbalancing Jacelyn as she turned around. Joe caught her before she fell onto the bed, his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her to him.

“You know, if you're trying to be Captain America, Halloween was two months ago, Joe,” Jacelyn said, her voice hushed.

Joe hummed, letting go of Jacelyn slowly. They turned their attention back to the berths, pulling the suitcases off the top bunk to put the bedding on it. That process went quicker, Jacelyn doing most of the work from the ladder. They left the luggage on the lower berth, each unzipping their own to get their nightclothes.

“I'll change in the bathroom; there isn't enough elbow room for both of us to change in here,” Jacelyn said, shutting her suitcase lid.

Jacelyn maneuvered around the armchair and into the stall, popping the button on her jeans to slide them off first. She remembered her phone and wallet then, taking them out before pushing the denim down. She gently tossed the wallet and phone onto the armchair before continuing to undress, folding her jeans to wear the next day before taking her shirt off.

She debated removing her bra for a moment, finally deciding that her need for comfort trumped any remaining vestiges of self-consciousness she had around Joe. She pulled a large t-shirt on, slipping a pair of sleep shorts on under it before gathering her discarded clothing.

Jacelyn walked back into the bedroom, pausing when she saw Joe. They'd been swimming together countless times over the years, so she had seen him shirtless before, but it was different when it was just the two of them in a room. She stood frozen in place, running her eyes over his back. She grinned at the NES controller boxers he wore, watching as he leaned down to zip his suitcase back up and put it under the lower berth. While Joe was less ripped than his brother, he still had muscles, and they rolled as he stretched his arms above his head with a yawn.

Finally, she decided she had crossed the line to a perverted amount of staring and walked closer.

“I'll take the top bunk unless you want it,” she said, easily nudging Joe out of her way to get to her suitcase. She pulled a plastic bag out of the main compartment, shoving the dirty clothes in before tying it in a bow. She reached behind her neck, lifting the shell necklace off before setting it in a front pocket.

“You sure?”

“Yeah; you're bigger than me, so you need more room.” She grabbed her suitcase from the berth, setting it off to the side at the foot of the bed.

“But you're scared of heights, remember? Don't want you to get so scared you're gonna fall that you can't sleep,” Joe responded, leaning against the ladder to the upper bunk.

“I won't be.”

“Okay...,” Joe shook his head at that, knowing he'd find her in the armchair come morning.

Jacelyn put a hand on the ladder, then stopped. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

“What movie you thinking of?” Joe sat down on the berth, leaning back on his hands and crossing his ankles as he looked up at Jacelyn.

**_This man is going to be the death of me. He really should not be doing any of that in just his boxers. I swear he knows what he's doing or something._ **

“Um, _Anastasia_?”

“Sounds good; I'll pull it up on Netflix. Sit down.” Joe stood up, digging in his suitcase for his iPad.

Jacelyn did as he said, scooting back to lay on the back half of the berth. Joe returned a moment later, fiddling with the settings to connect to the train's wifi. He knee-walked up the mattress to sit beside Jacelyn, the app finally loading. He pulled the blankets over them as the movie began buffering.

Joe shuffled down the mattress, laying down so his elbow brushed Jacelyn's. She shifted closer in through the opening minutes of the film, finally ending with her head on Joe's chest; he put his left arm around her so she could move closer to see the screen undistorted. Jacelyn put an arm over Joe's torso, helping prop the iPad up.

“As soon as the movie's over I'm going back to my bunk,” she yawned, her eyelids already heavy.

“If you insist,” Joe mumbled, looking down at her again.

Thirty minutes into the film Joe paused it, waiting for a reaction from the woman. When none came, he turned the device off and slid it under the berth. He settled into the mattress, pulling the blankets farther up as he yawned.

“G'night, Jace,” he whispered.

***

Jacelyn woke up slowly, the first thing she noticed being the warmth she was cocooned in. She yawned, blinking her eyes a few times before taking in her surroundings. An armchair, a sink, and a suitcase greeted her eyes. The floor rumbled beneath her, reminding her that she was on a train. It was then that she noticed Joe in the bed with her, his body wrapped around hers.

Her head rested on his right elbow, his left hand on her right shoulder as he held her close. Their legs were tangled together, making their bodies pressed together from chest to knee. Joe's breath tickled the back of her neck as he breathed with the rhythm of sleep. Jacelyn felt something hard pressing into her rear, and she was torn between moving away and moving towards it. She chose neither, closing her eyes again with a sigh to continue basking in the warmth and memorize what she considered a once in a lifetime chance.

She bit her tongue when she felt Joe shift behind her, his hips pressing closer for a heartbeat. His hand squeezed her shoulder for a second, then trailed down to cup a breast. Jacelyn froze, hardly breathing. His hand returned to her shoulder a minute later, and Jacelyn almost admitted she missed the weight. She moved her hand up to the shoulder where Joe's hand was, and at her touch he spread his fingers to allow hers to intertwine.

She dozed off and on for a while, just the other side of asleep, Joe's breathing as calming a presence as his warmth. She felt his breathing start to change after a while, growing less steady as he neared wakefulness.

He yawned, then nuzzled into Jacelyn's neck. His hips shifted again, his arm holding her in place as he did. He squeezed her fingers, his thumb brushing softly over hers after a moment.

“Jace?” Joe whispered a few minutes later. Jacelyn ignored the sound, defying the pull to wakefulness with a mumbled “no.”

“Jace.” Joe squeezed her shoulder then, shaking it gently. “Wake up.”

“No. Comfy.” Jacelyn tightened her grip on Joe's hand, sighing as she tried curling in farther to the touch.

“Jace, I have to pee. Leggo my hand.” Joe started wriggling his fingers as he spoke, finally disentangling them from Jacelyn's. He climbed over her to get to the floor, reaching back to pull the covers up over her in his wake.

Jacelyn snuggled into the blankets, smiling in her half-asleep state at the warmth and scent she was surrounded with. She faintly heard Joe swear as he ran into the armchair, followed by the sound of running water.

She mumbled as he crawled back onto the bed, clutching the blanket tighter as he tried to pull it down. “Mine,” she whispered.

He eventually coaxed the covers from her grip, sliding down to lay beside her again with a sigh. Jacelyn turned towards him, wrapping an arm around his waist as she curled around him, her head on his chest once more. Maybe she was more awake than asleep when she half-laid on him, a leg going over his own.

Joe moved to brush some hair out of Jacelyn's face, but stopped when their alarms started ringing from the bunk above. Jacelyn didn't move.

“Jacelyn. Jace. Wake up,” he said softly, reaching out to shake her shoulder again. He didn't stop until Jacelyn reached out to slap his hand.

“Mhm? Wha? I wanna sleep,” she groaned, opening her eyes slowly. She rolled half onto her back, brushing her hair out of her face as she blinked up at him.

“We should get dressed so we can get breakfast; we're almost to Chicago I think.”

“Fine.” Jacelyn sat up, yawning and stretching. “Hey, sorry for stealing half your bed last night. You should've kicked me out, you know.”

“Eh, it's fine,” Joe shrugged, standing up. “I figured you wouldn't sleep in the top bunk and I wasn't going to test out the armchair, so,” he trailed off with a laugh. He reached down, sliding his suitcase out from under the bunk to get his clothes for the day.

Jacelyn meandered to the bathroom, making sure she took enough time for Joe to be at least into fresh boxers before returning to the sleeping compartment. She grabbed her suitcase from the foot of the bed, sliding it onto the bed next to Joe's. She took the prior day's jeans out first, then pulled the rolled up t-shirt out that contained the rest of the day's wardrobe. She zipped the suitcase back up, unrolling the shirt ontop so she could grab the socks and underwear within.

She turned to the right, away from Joe, and pulled her sleep tee over her head. Her sportsbra slipped on quickly, the hooks already fastened together the night before. Her shorts and underwear came off just as fast, followed by the fresh pair. She turned back to face her suitcase, ignoring the flush on Joe's face as she finished dressing.

“Come on, let's go eat; I'm starving,” Jacelyn said, pulling on her shoes.

***

Jacelyn slid into a chair beside a window, the curtains drawn back to let the small sparks of the rising sun shine into the dining car. The world outside was coated in a fresh layer of snow, which had fallen overnight as the world slept. She ordered a cup of coffee the moment the waiter appeared, Joe doing the same before opening the menu.

“So what do you want to do today?” Jacelyn said, sipping at her beverage. “Check in is at three, right? We gonna wander around town for a while, check in, wander some more?”

“Yeah. I was thinking maybe go to the Bean? And then maybe the Planetarium if that doesn't sound too boring,” Joe answered, trying to keep a straight face as he stared at Jacelyn.

“Joe, I would kill to go to the Planetarium, not even kidding. I have wanted to go there since I was a kid. Also, this coffee is terrible. Do you want the rest of mine?” Jacelyn set the mug down, turning the handle towards Joe.

“No, I don't think I need caffeine that badly today after all.” He shook his head, moving his own hot mug to the edge of the table. “You're getting the French toast, right?”

“Of course. I'll trade you a bite of bacon for some sausage.” Jacelyn closed her menu with as near a slam as was possible with three laminated pages.

“Deal.”

***

Jacelyn hopped off the railcar, her suitcase rattling off the stairs behind her. Once again Joe kept his hand on her back as they walked through the station, finding the CTA ticket booth quickly once they spotted the signs. They bought six passes, enough to get them to the Bean, the Planetarium, and back to the station to get their bags, before heading to the suitcase lockers.

“Are you sure these are safe?” Jacelyn whispered, sliding her suitcase into the cubby.

“Yes; you have to have the ticket to get in it. No one is going to steal your stuff, Jace,” Joe laughed, nudging her in the side. At her look, he stopped laughing. “I promise, no one is going to take your stuff, Jacelyn. And if they somehow do, you've got a detective with you.”

Jacelyn sighed, closing the door to the locker. She tried opening it several times to no avail, finally satisfied that it was secure.

Joe grabbed her hand, leading her up to the street amongst the early morning crowd. He didn't let go as they started walking towards the bus stop half a mile away. The crowd thinned out as they walked away from the main thoroughfare, people casually city-strolling instead of bustling to and from Union Station.

Jacelyn shivered, pulling her jacket tighter as the cold wind cut through her and gusted between the city buildings. Even though it was unseasonably warm in the city for late December, the wind was still an icy blast.

Joe dropped her hand, putting an arm around her shoulder to pull her closer as they walked. She leaned into him, one of her hands snaking its way into one of his coat pockets. If she felt a small measure of joy at Joe's gesture, she bit back any smile.

***

“Go on, go pose,” Joe laughed as they approached the Bean. He took his phone out, gesturing between the large metal object and Jacelyn after she didn't move. “Go on.”

Jacelyn went up to the Bean, turning around to look at Joe. He stuck his tongue out at her as she pouted, making her laugh. After a moment she stopped, putting her hand under her chin as she smiled. The next pose she turned to the side, sticking one hip out as she put a hand on that hip. She turned around then, looking over her shoulder to smile at Joe as her hair blew in her face.

“Okay, your turn,” Jacelyn said, walking to where Joe stood. She took the camera from him as he went to where she had been posing.

Joe lifted one foot up, pretending to hold a flag as he stared straight ahead. He then unzipped his coat, pulling it back as he put his hands on his hips. Finally he jumped, Jacelyn catching him in midair after the second try.

“Jace, come up here! We'll get a selfie.” Joe waved her up, taking the camera from her since his arms were longer.

The first selfie they took was actually a picture of their reflection, their faces slightly distorted from the curve of the Bean. The next two selfies were actual selfies; they grinned at the camera for the first one, making silly faces for the second.

“Come on, you're freezing; let's find a bus stop so we can gaze at stars.”

Joe grabbed Jacelyn's hand, pulling her towards the bus stop. She followed willingly, laughing at his zeal. She was just as anxious to see the stars, truth be told, perhaps even more so than Joe.

***

“I think these all deserve to go on Facebook,” Joe said, scrolling through his camera roll as the bus rumbled towards the museum campus. He tapped on one of the pictures he'd taken of Jacelyn infront of the Bean before she started posing, a candid shot of her laughing when he'd stuck his tongue out. Her eyes were closed as she pushed her hair out of her face, and the winter sun had peeked out for just a second to shine on the Bean.

“Whoa, that one's really cool looking. I don't remember that one though.” Jacelyn leaned over to look at the picture, grabbing the phone to tilt it towards her so she could see it better.

“I'll post these to Facebook while we're at the Planetarium. I'm sure they have wifi there, so I'll just let them upload while we're looking around.” Joe thumbed through the photos quickly, showing them to Jacelyn as he spoke.

“Hey, I think our stop is coming up. Come on.” Jacelyn picked up her backpack, reaching for the brake-cord.

***

Joe dug around in one of his coat pockets, finally withdrawing the pieces of paper he'd been searching for as they walked towards the entrance. He wound his way through the line of people to the front desk, presenting the tickets to the receptionist. The receptionist waved them on, and Joe stuffed the tickets back into the pocket.

Jacelyn walked ahead, stopping when she entered the large hall. She stared up at the domed ceiling in awe, twinkling lights simulating the stars that would be overhead at that moment. Joe walked up beside her, snapping a picture with the glow of a sign lighting up her face.

“Joe, can you believe it? It's so beautiful,” she whispered, still staring up.

“Yeah, it really is. Hey, I think a movie is starting soon. Do you want to check out the schedules for the flicks? We get one movie choice.”

***

They walked out of the Planetarium, pulling their coats tight against the early evening chill. They stopped at the bottom of the steps, Joe pulling out his phone to check the time and bus schedule.

“Ohmygosh Joe, that was a great idea to come here.” Jacelyn wrapped Joe in a hug. “Seriously, man,” she continued, her voice muffled by Joe's coat.

Joe returned the hug, then leaned back to disengage. “I knew you'd never pass up the chance to come here. Come on, the faster we walk the faster we get to the bus stop.”

It took them fifteen minutes to get to the bus stop infront of the Aquarium, and another five minutes for the bus to show up. They huddled in the bus shelter as they waited, Jacelyn paging through the book she'd bought at the gift store. She glanced over at Joe, who was reading his own newly acquired book. While hers was on locating constellations, his was on Nikola Tesla and his works.

“Do you want to have dinner at the station?” Jacelyn asked as she looked down the street for the bus.

“Nah; I was actually thinking maybe this one restaurant I heard about. You packed a dress like I said, right?”

“Yeah, but I'm not sure why you wanted me to,” Jacelyn answered. “Oh, I think I see the bus coming.”

“Because I don't know if they'd let us into the restaurant in jeans and tourist shirts,” Joe laughed, sliding the receipt from the store into the book as a bookmark.

They boarded the bus quickly, Jacelyn having problems getting her pass to scan, however. She tried a different pass, that one working as it hadn't been used yet.

“Whoops,” she whispered as she sat down next to Joe.

“Don't worry about it.”

***

They headed towards the lockers, scanning their locker tickets in order to retrieve their bags. Joe sighed as Jacelyn detoured to the bathroom, accepting the handle of her suitcase to guard it. She elbowed him in the side when she returned, starting to walk up towards the streetlevel.

“So what bus are we taking?” Jacelyn asked when they reached the bus stop.

“We're not; we're walking.” Joe led the way towards Randolph Street, turning right at the street sign.

Jacelyn followed behind, almost running into Joe when he stopped infront of the Hotel Allegro. “You lost?” She asked, staring up at the giant marquee sign that read Hotel Allegro. “I doubt they'd let us in the lobby, let alone give us directions to our hotel,” she scoffed.

“They'd better let us in the lobby; I got us a room here.” Joe grabbed Jacelyn's hand, leading her into the lobby.

She stopped when they crossed the threshold, staring around the lobby at the décor and furniture. She walked over towards one of the tables, pulling out her phone to take a picture of the room. It was thoroughly art deco, the chairs and tables odd shapes. The tables had stacks of books about the art of Pollock and anthologies of poetry. She snapped a couple pictures, then walked over to Joe as he finished checking them in.

“We're in room 315,” Joe said, handing her a keycard from the envelope he had just been handed.

Jacelyn led the way to the elevator, stopping first in the lounge to look around. The elevator played swing music as they ascended the building, and Jacelyn danced in place to the rhythm. Joe grinned at her, tapping his foot to the beat.

Joe let Jacelyn off the elevator first, gesturing that she should go down the hallway before him. He knew what the room would look like, having meticulously researched the hotel beforehand. The entire hotel was done up like a step back in time to the Swinging 20's and 30's, Art Deco abounding on the walls with its paintings and the sconces, and even the wallpaper.

Jacelyn found the room quickly, getting the greenlight to enter after the first time she swiped. She walked into the room, stopping when she saw the bathroom with its large tub and granite-look counter. She walked farther into the room, leaving her suitcase propped up against the closet door. A window was along the far wall, the desk to the left of it. A small bouquet of daffodils sat on the desk in a crystal vase, casting shade on the vintage rotary phone.

The king-sized bed dominated the rest of the left wall, flanked by a small end table of mahogany on the left in the corner. Blue decorative pillows crowned the bed, fluffy white sleeping pillows peeking out from behind. The bedspread was white with black geometric shapes, completing the art deco look. Two hexagonal stool-chairs sat in front of the tv to the right of the window.

Jacelyn decided not to think about how there was only one bed in the room, or how daffodils were her favorite flower. If she thought about it, it would lead to thinking of other things she thought were impossible, and she didn't want to get her hopes up. If she did, the vacation would soon turn into a nightmare.

“Joe, this place is amazing. There's no way this was cheap. I can't believe this.” She looked back at Joe as he stood infront of the now closed door, one hand on her cheek as she spoke. “Why?”

“I was looking for hotels and I found this one. I thought it looked really cool, and it was actually in the budget so I booked it.” He shrugged, putting his suitcase next to Jacelyn's.

“How much was this? What budget allowed this, man? You'd better not be spending all your money on this trip.” Jacelyn sat down at the foot of the bed, leaning back on her elbows.

“It was $103 without tax; there was a deal going on to save 20% until March. So it was just a tad over budget actually, but look around, Jace; I couldn't pass it up,” Joe laughed, spreading his arms to encompass the whole room. “And if it makes you feel better, our hotel in San Diego is a Motel 6 I think. A nice one, but still a Motel 6.”

“Joe, this is like the best vacation ever. You are a genius, you know that? An absolute genius.” Jacelyn stood up, giving Joe a quick hug before sitting back down.

“I'm glad someone thinks so.” Joe looked over at the analog clock on the nightstand before continuing, “our reservation at the restaurant is in less than an hour, so maybe we should start getting ready.”

“Sounds like a plan; I call the bathroom.”

Jacelyn grabbed her suitcase, hauling it into the bathroom before shutting the French doors.

***

Jacelyn closed the lid on the toilet, setting her suitcase on it before unzipping the luggage. She pulled the dress from the bottom of the pile of shirts on the left, unwrapping it from the butcher paper she had put it in when she had packed. She pulled the small cosmetics bag out from infront of the jeans on the right, setting it on the vanity counter before beginning to strip.

She tossed her discarded clothing into the plastic bag, then unzipped the cosmetics bag to get her hairties. She grabbed two sections of hair from either side of her face, pulling them back for a moment before carefully combing the top of them straight. She pulled them back again, twisting a hairtie around the two sections so they'd stay in place and form a bit of a crown around her head. She patted down any fly-aways from the rest of her hair, doing her best to not flatten the natural curls.

She drew the red dress over her head then, smoothing it down over her hips as she stared at her reflection. The empire waist accentuated her bust, the bottom hem falling an inch or two below her knees. The neckline was cut in a v, dropping down far enough to show an inkling of cleavage without being risque.

Jacelyn reached into the cosmetics bag again, pulling out a short pearl necklace that she fastened infront, spinning it around so the clasp was hidden by her hair. She dug around for a moment in the bag, finally finding the pearl studs for her ears. She put those in next, finally turning her attention to the large faux red rose hair clip. She stared at it for a moment, finally reaching back to attach it to the hairtie. She stuffed her wallet and phone into a black clutch, snapping it shut.

She pulled her body spray out of her suitcase, spritzing her wrists, neck, and chest with it before returning it to its place. She freshened up her deodorant, a couple strokes each side, and she was done. She slipped into her black heels, looking herself over in the mirror once more.

She nodded at her reflection, spinning around to get the full look, then sighed.

**_If this doesn't tell him I want him, I don't know what will._ **

With that, she threw all her stuff into her suitcase, zipped it up, and opened the bathroom doors.

***

Joe finished tucking his dress shirt into his slacks, doing the button and fly up quickly before fastening his belt. He grabbed his tie from the suitcase, draping it around his neck to tie. He paused when he heard the bathroom doors open, turning around to look at Jacelyn.

He froze, his heart stopping at the sight of her. His heartrate returned to normal a moment later as he looked her up and down slowly, watching as she reached up to touch her hair nervously.

“You look – wow – you look great, Jace. Really,” he breathed, his feet somehow not carrying him to her as much as he wanted them to. “Wow.”

Jacelyn blushed, covering her face with a hand. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You look really nice too. You should wear a tie more often.”

The tie was black to match his belt, pants, and shoes, the shirt a light sky blue. It was a lighter shade than his eyes, making his eyes look somehow more intense. Jacelyn noticed all that in the heartbeats she ran her eyes over Joe, her head tilting to the side at the realization about his eyes.

“I don't even have it tied and you're saying that! Imagine how I'd look if I actually had it on.” He wiggled his eyebrows at that, making Jacelyn laugh as she sat down at the foot of the bed.

She rolled her eyes at him as he stopped, her eyes following him as he walked to the mirror to tie his tie. He groaned as the knot slipped time and again, Jacelyn finally coming to his rescue.

“You know, you'd think after being a boy scout and detective for so long you'd be able to tie a tie,” she joked, adjusting the length of the two ends. “Or are knots more your specialty?”

“I always got Frank to tie them for me, ever since we were kids. And when did you learn to tie a tie?”

“My dad taught me when I was younger; it's a useful skill to have, you know. Now watch my fingers.”

She effortlessly got the tie to stay in place, sliding the knot up and turning his collar back down for him. She swallowed slowly as she smoothed the shoulders of his shirt out, stepping back after a moment.

“Ready?” Joe asked, sliding his wallet and phone into his pockets.

“You bet!” Jacelyn grabbed her clutch from the bathroom counter, leading them out of the hotel room and sliding the do not disturb placard over the doorknob. “So well-meaning maids don't go in,” she explained at Joe's questioning look.

Joe stuck his elbow out for her, and she slid her hand into the crook before they walked down the hallway to the elevator.

***

They walked out of the hotel lobby, heading to the curb infront of them. Joe led them across the street, stopping at the glass doors of the Randolph Tavern.

“Well you certainly picked a good spot,” Jacelyn laughed, eyeing up the restaurant-front. “Come on, it's cold out here.”

Joe held the door open for her, and he approached the hostess' desk after the door closed. He told her his name and what time the reservation was for, and she led them back to a table after a moment.

“This place is awesome, Joe. Seriously. What do I want to eat?”

They looked over the menu, making comments about each item of food they saw listed. Their server came over a few moments later, and they gave him their orders before settling back to look around at the restaurant.

Their meal passed quickly, the two talking over their adventure in Chicago so far. Somehow the conversation didn't dull, the detective and his friend laughing over the smallest things as only good friends could do. The bill came, and Jacelyn picked it up quickly. They finished their waters after she signed the credit card slip, standing up at the same time.

Jacelyn took Joe's proffered elbow again, darting back across the street to their hotel.

***

“We should take another selfie,” Jacelyn said as Joe unlocked the door. She slid her shoes off, groaning as the tight shoes came off.

Joe toed his own shoes off, then gestured at Jacelyn. “Okay; come here.”

He put an arm around her waist, pulling her in from the side so they stood hip to hip. He pulled out his phone as she leaned in closer, their cheeks almost touching. He snapped a couple smiling pictures before making a funny face, Jacelyn mirroring him.

She turned her head towards Joe, leaning in closer. Her lips brushed Joe's cheek for a heartbeat before she pulled back.

“Hey, do that again; I didn't get a picture of it.”

Jacelyn complied slowly, her eyes closing as she kissed Joe's cheek again.

Joe set the phone on the table silently, turning towards Jacelyn to put a hand on the back of her neck. Her eyes opened as Joe's lips connected with hers, fluttering closed after a moment.

She grabbed the front of his shirt, trying to pull him closer as his arm around her waist tightened. She bit his lower lip before deepening the kiss, Joe's lips parting.

He drew back a moment later, Jacelyn letting out a soft moan at the loss of contact. He rested his forehead on hers as he stared down at her, his other hand lowering to her hip.

“Joe?” Jacelyn whispered when he was still staring a moment later. She started loosening his tie slowly.

“I just wanted to remember how you look right now,” he answered, leaning down to kiss her jaw below her ear. “So beautiful.” His lips trailed lower to her neck, and finally to where her shoulder met her neck.

Jacelyn ran her fingers through his hair, tangling in the back to gently tug. She pulled his face back to hers, capturing his mouth in another deep kiss. She unclipped the rose from her hair quickly, tossing it aside haphazardly.

He squeezed her ass with one hand, making her hips rock into his. He turned them slowly until he was facing the bed, then started walking as Jacelyn ran her hands down his back.

She started tugging on the bottom of his shirt when the back of her knees hit the mattress. Joe bent down, grabbing the back of her thighs to lift her and put her on the bed. She scooted backwards towards the pillows, Joe following closely.

She reached up to pull his face closer, her other hand returning to where his shirt was only half-untucked. “You really are wearing too much clothing,” she said between kisses.

“So are you,” Joe replied. He moved one hand from beside her head to her side, snaking its way under her dress from the outside of her thigh to her hip.

Jacelyn had finished untucking his shirt, and started undoing the buttons from the bottom up. She moaned as his lips ghosted over the tops of her breasts, her chest rising to try and follow the contact as he pulled back.

She finished unbuttoning his shirt, wrapping her legs around his waist so she could flip them. Joe went easily, reaching up to cup her breasts with both hands as she bent forward. He squeezed her nipples through her clothing, causing her to bite her lip to stifle another moan. She grabbed his wrists then, moving his hands to her hips.

She bent forward again, pressing another kiss to Joe's lips. His tongue brushed against her lips, and she parted them to let his tongue explore. It was give and take, nice and slow; they had all the time in the world, even if they had waited a long time for it.

A few minutes later Joe ran a hand up to Jacelyn's hair, pulling on it gently. She pulled back, finally sitting upright above his hips.

“Jacelyn, I just want to make sure we're not going too far. That you're good with this,” Joe said, his voice hoarse.

“I'm good with it. I'm willing to go as far as you are.” Jacelyn smiled, nodding once.

“Okay. Good. Just double checking.” Joe nodded back, reaching up to pull her closer.

“You're a good man, Joe Hardy,” she laughed, kissing him back.

She started trailing kisses down his chest then, moving from one side to the other slowly. She nipped at his sides just above his belt, making him groan. She undid his belt slowly, the click and slide of it riling her up almost as much as the look of desire he was giving her. She pulled the zipper down just as slowly, unbuttoning the button before starting to pull the slacks down his legs.

He sat up as she discarded his pants on the floor, moving to his knees before pulling her back onto the bed so her body was pressed against his. He grabbed her hips, pulling her even closer so he could press kisses to her neck and shoulder. His hands trailed to her ass, then down as far as they could go to pull up her dress. He started pulling it up slowly, the tips of his fingers grazing her skin as he did.

She tangled her fingers in his hair again, keeping his mouth close to hers as he worked at undressing her. She moved only far enough to let the material slide above her hips, then her chest, Joe helping her pull it over her head as she continued peppering his lips and jaw with kisses.

“Ow, ow, stop, it's stuck on my earring,” Jacelyn said, the dress half over her head. Her arms were still in the sleeves over her head, leaving her half-trapped in the clothing.

She slowly slid the dress back down, reaching up to untangle the collar's hem from her earring; a loose thread had looped around the piece of jewelry. She took the earrings off then, unclasping the necklace behind her hair as well before trying to pull the dress back off again.

Joe stuck his hand out to take the jewelry, knee-walking towards the desk to put the jewelry on it. By the time he had turned around Jacelyn had pulled the dress off and tossed it to the floor, leaving her in just her bra and panties. She started laughing then as Joe grew closer.

“Are you laughing at me?” Joe asked, grabbing her hips again. He pulled her against him again, nipping at her ear.

“No, I'm laughing at us; about the earring and the dress and stuff,” she answered, her laughter beginning to die slowly. She wrapped her arms around Joe's neck, pressing a brief kiss to his lips. “Like something from some teen comedy or something.”

“Guess it was pretty funny. Your face when you were stuck in the dress was priceless.” Joe started laughing then, starting Jacelyn's laughter anew. Their laughter ended almost as quickly as it had began, their bodies pressed together as they laughed bringing their attention back to more pressing matters.

Jacelyn kissed Joe slowly then, pushing his shirt off of him finally so he wore nothing but his boxers. Joe ran a hand up her back to the hooks of her bra, unclasping it one handed as Jacelyn tried pushing him down to the mattress. He pulled the straps off her shoulders to let the garment fall to the bed, letting Jacelyn finally coerce him onto his back. The moment she straddled him again he sat up, flipping them over to a muffled shriek from Jacelyn.

She started giggling as she landed on her back, quickly silenced by Joe's mouth on her breast. One of his hands played with the other tit, switching after a moment. He kissed his way down Jacelyn's stomach, staring up at her for a heartbeat before moving his hands to the waistband of her panties on either side of her. He slowly started pulling the piece of cloth down, Jacelyn lifting her hips to assist.

He threw the panties onto the floor, then leaned up to press his lips to her shoulders again. He worked his way back down her body again, his hands playing with her nipples as his lips moved lower. He pressed a kiss to the patch of hair over her slit, looking up at her when she said his name softly. His hands stilled at the look of uncertainty that flashed on her face before she realized he was looking at her. She schooled her features into a smile quickly, but he wasn't fooled.

“Mmm? What's wrong? Do you want to stop?” His hands moved to rest on the mattress on either side of her body, his thumbs barely brushing her skin.

“No, don't stop. I just...,” she trailed off, closing her eyes for a moment. “You don't have to do that if you don't want to; it's okay.”

“Okay. Do you want me to, though?”

“Yes, but I don't want you to do it if you don't want to,” she said slowly, not looking at Joe. She took a shaky breath before continuing, “no one's ever done that before.” She bit her lip as she stared down at Joe, a thousand fears running through her head at once.

“I wouldn't have started to if I didn't want to. Do you want me to tonight? Or would you rather wait? Whichever you want to do, Jace, is fine by me,” Joe whispered, staring back.

“Can we try tonight? I think I'd like it.” She gave Joe another smile, this one real, as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Joe smiled back, kissing her hip before saying, “yeah, we can try tonight. But the moment you decide you don't like it, tell me. Got it?”

“Yeah.” Jacelyn rolled her hips slowly.

“Good. Come here, lemme kiss you again first.” Joe scooted up to put a hand next to Jacelyn's head, leaning down to slowly kiss her.

She gripped his shoulder, holding him close as their lips moved together. He pulled back after a minute, moving back down to her waist. He bent her legs to accommodate him, pressing his lips to her inner thighs before turning his attention to her cunt. He licked a long stripe from her opening to her clit, playing with the nub of flesh with his tongue. He pinched it between his lips, humming for a moment before using his tongue again.

She could feel each movement of his tongue against her like it was a lit match, the fire burning deep inside her. She shifted her hips to get closer, Joe humming again at the movement. She tangled her fingers in his hair, whether to push him away or pull him closer she wasn't sure.

He ran a finger through her folds, spreading her wetness and his saliva more as his mouth continued playing with her clit. He alternated between kissing it and running his tongue over it, and as Jacelyn became more sensitive he hummed more and more. He ground against the bed with his movements, his eyes blown wide when he looked up at her.

“Joe... fuck, Joe,” she sighed, planting her feet solidly on the mattress to steer Joe's mouth to a better angle.

He started playing with her opening as her legs started to twitch with how close she was. She moaned when she felt a finger slide slowly inside of her, just to the second knuckle. It pressed up, and her body started to pull in on itself slowly before returning to normal.

“Please,” she whined, her fingers twitching in Joe's hair as she grabbed the sheets with her other hand. “S'close.”

He pressed against her g-spot again in time with his tongue's movement on her clit, sliding a second finger in beside the first. He did it again, and again, Jacelyn gasping his name as she imploded with pleasure. He didn't stop until she had stopped moving with the aftershocks, his fingers sliding out with a wet sound.

He leaned up, blanketing her body with his own as she caught her breath. “You taste so good,” he whispered, capturing her lips for another slow kiss. He slid his tongue beside hers, the sweet-saltiness of her swirling between them. He pulled back after a moment, laying down on his side next to her.

She rolled over to face him, propping her head up on her hand. “That was,” she started, pausing to lick her lips, “that was – wow, Joe.” She laughed, covering her face with a hand. “I can't even speak right right now, Joe.”

She kissed the corner of his mouth as he grinned at her, laughing again as he pulled her to him.

“Then I think I did pretty good if I made you speechless,” he replied in her ear, his voice hushed to barely more than a whisper.

Jacelyn pushed Joe onto his back, smiling as she scooted backwards towards the foot of the bed and her suitcase.

“Don't move; I need to get a condom from my bag,” she said, her legs swinging out from under her.

“There's some in the nightstand here,” Joe answered, rolling over to pull the drawer open. “I put them there when you were changing in the bathroom.”

Jacelyn jumped onto the bed, crawling quickly to where Joe was and straddling him to grab his wrists. She pinned them above his head, though they both knew he could overpower her in a heartbeat.

“You mean to tell me you planned this?” She asked, pressing her lips to his neck.

“Yeah; I was a boyscout, so I came prepared. And by the sounds of it, so did you,” he answered, turning his head to meet her lips.

“You sly, sexy man,” she said, her lips brushing against his.

She straightened up, leaning over to feel around in the drawer for a foil packet. Joe took that opportunity to squeeze her ass again, a nipple falling into his mouth as he nipped at her tits. She froze, moaning at the sensation. She sat up again slowly, rolling off of Joe after putting the condom packet beside his hip.

She grabbed the waistband of his boxers, sliding them down over his stiff cock slowly. The tip glistened with precome, twitching in need. Jacelyn bent down slowly, licking at the beads that oozed out before placing her lips on the tip.

“Jace, as much as I've always wanted you to suck me off,” Joe groaned, “I'd rather fuck you right now. Please.” His hips bucked as she pulled off him, chasing her lips.

Jacelyn slid the condom on him slowly, the foil discarded somewhere on the floor. She reached down, Joe's hand following hers, to guide his cock to her entrance. She moaned as he slid into her little by little, her head tilted back. She twitched her hips when she felt flush with Joe's, the extra movement sinking him in just a bit farther.

He reached up, intertwining their hands together as Jacelyn adjusted to the feel of him inside her. His hips rolled, lifting her a bit before she settled down again. He did it again a moment later, watching her face as she bit her lip.

She lifted up slowly, sinking down onto his member again after he nearly popped out. He swore as he bottomed out again, trying to match the rhythm she was setting. After a few slow strokes she started moving faster, their bodies meeting with an obscene sound before she lifted again. She was too blissed out still to be seeking another orgasm, the strokes creating pleasure but not enough to add up to anything quite yet.

Joe appreciated the view, watching as Jacelyn fucked herself on his cock. He unlinked their fingers, grabbing her hips as he thrust up. She lost the rhythm, Joe setting the new one with his thrusts as he pulled her down to meet each one. He rolled them over as he pulled out, sliding back into her without missing a beat.

Jacelyn wrapped her arms around his shoulders as Joe kept up the fast rhythm, his breath tickling her ear with each thrust. She put a leg around his waist, opening herself more and holding Joe close. She didn't realize how close she was to another orgasm until then, the new position allowing him to hit her most sensitive spot.

“C'mon, Jace, you gotta come again,” Joe said, biting her shoulder. “Come for me, babe.”

Jacelyn arched her back as she came, a stifled scream leaving her lips. Joe was right behind, coming with a groan that was muffled by Jacelyn's shoulder. He collapsed ontop of her, burying his face in her neck.

They stayed like that for a few moments, Joe finally sitting up to pull out with a groan. He stood up, tying the rubber off and throwing it in the garbage as he walked to the bathroom. He collected his boxers from where Jacelyn had thrown them on the floor, pulling them on before looking for her underwear.

Jacelyn meandered to the bathroom then, cleaning herself up quickly before returning to the bedroom. She crawled onto the bed next to Joe, shimmying into the panties he had retrieved from a far corner of the room before pulling the covers up.

Joe hesitated for a moment before wrapping a hand around her waist, pulling her to him. She nestled into his chest quickly, tucking her head beneath his chin as she faced him. He ran a hand up and down her back slowly as their heartrates returned to normal, Jacelyn tangling their legs together.

“Joe?” She mumbled, not looking up at him.

“What?” His hand paused, pressing at the small of her back as he felt his heart squeeze with fear at what her next words might be.

“You didn't need to buy me train tickets to get me to sleep with you, you know.”

He chuckled at that, his hand moving to her hair. “I know, but I wanted to do something special for you. I wanted to make sure you knew how special you are,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

She wrapped an arm around his waist as she yawned, her hand squeezing his side. “Night babe,” she mumbled.

“Night Jace.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have some sleepy morning sex too  
> Because this is literally the only thing I wrote in 2020 for this so I'm gonna put it in a separate chapter

She woke up with a start when a door slammed down the hall, jumping what felt like a foot in the air at the noise. Joe reached out sleepily, running a hand down her back before pulling her to him, her back to his front.

“Morning,” he mumbled, pressing his lips to her neck.

“Morning,” she answered, turning her head to look at him over her shoulder. “Sleep well?”

“Mhmm. You?” His hair stuck up every whichway, making him look like a hedgehog.

“Yeah, slept amazing the past couple nights.” She reached back, combing his hair back from his eyes. “It's only 730 I think, so we can sleep a while longer.”

Joe didn't answer, leaning over to kiss her. It was little more than a peck, though it held a promise of things yet to come. He brushed his lips across hers again, smiling when she returned the kiss a moment later. Jacelyn slung an arm over his side as she continued to kiss him.

They kissed slowly, still partly asleep as the sun began to break over the horizon. Jacelyn tangled her legs with his, shivering from the cold air on her bare torso after the blankets got pushed down from their movements.

Joe reached down, pulling the covers up higher before snaking his hand back under the sheets. His fingers ghosted over her shoulder and down her arm, skittering to her cunt. He let his hand rest there, his fingers twitching as he nibbled at her bottom lip.

She squeezed his ass, moving her hips to rock against him before leaning forward so she could palm his dick. He moved his hand up to her tit, squeezing it once and being answered by Jacelyn’s hand tightening around his length.

Joe reached down to push his boxers down past his cock, then grabbed Jacelyn’s leg to sling over his hip. He reached forward, moving her panties to the side and feeling the warm wetness that had been hidden.

“This for me? Just from us barely kissing this morning?” He asked in her ear, nipping at the earlobe as she moaned. He circled two fingers around her clit, spreading her wetness and causing her hips to buck against him. “You want me like this?” He asked, hips rocking towards her as she let out another quiet moan.

“Yes, Joe, please.”

He leaned back, opening the bedside drawer and pulling out another condom. He held it infront of her, and she held one side as he tore it open. He rolled it down his member quickly, afterwards slinging Jacelyn’s leg back over his hip so he could bump his cock against her folds. 

She let out another moan as he rocked against her, arching her back and trying to align herself with his movements so he would slide in. He continued bumping against her opening, the angle not quite right.

Joe pushed her shoulder forward so she was half laying on her stomach, then lined his cock up against her opening. He grabbed her hip, pulling it back slowly so he finally penetrated her. The two let out matching sighs and moans, Jacelyn biting out a curse as he pulled her shoulder back so they were pressed together and gained another half inch inside her.

He slowly started rocking his hips, his hand finding its way back to her tit and squeezing it in time with his thrusts. Jacelyn leaned her head back against his shoulder, exposing her neck better for him to press his lips to as he fucked her. He moved his hand from her tit to her throat, just wrapping his fingers over the column without pressure. “This okay?” He asked quietly, stopping his thrusts.

“Yeah, just don’t squeeze,” Jacelyn answered, putting her hand over his for a second. 

“Okay.” He started thrusting slowly again, listening to the way her moans sounded keener with his hand on her neck. “You like this, baby? Slow-fucking in the morning?” He whispered against her ear.

“Yes Joe, yess,” she moaned, rocking back harder against him for a couple beats.

“You like waking up to me hard against you?”

“Yes, oh yes.”

He trailed his hand down from her neck, stopping at her tits to fondle and pinch one and then the other. Jacelyn gasped at the first pinch on her nipple, hardened as it was from the cold and her arousal. The second pinch was answered by a high moan as she rocked and squeezed tight around his member nestled inside her. He alternated between one and the other, taking turns between pinching the pink nipples that were turning a pretty shade of deeper pink with each pinch and fondling the entire breast. He rubbed his thumb over each nipple after a few pinches, his lips pressing to the joint of her neck and shoulder as he wished he could put his mouth on them. 

His hand slowly moved from her breasts down to her stomach, squeezing the softness before continuing down to her cunt. He ran his fingers through her folds, feeling how his dick sinking into her slowly made her wetter and she trembled as his fingers brushed her clit.

“You ready to come, baby?” He asked, toying slowly with her clit as he continued his slow thrusts. 

“Yesss. Please, yes, Joe,” she groaned, her voice shaking.

He wrapped his arm around her torso, his hand coming up to her shoulder that was on the bed. He started thrusting harder, her hips anchored by the leg slung over his hip that had laid her open. He slipped out then, and he reached down quickly to reseat himself within her. She leaned forward, more of her weight resting on her front and opening her more. His thrusts grew deeper, and she reached up to wrap her hand around his wrist.

“Joe, I’m- I’m gonna-.” she started, interrupting herself with a moan. 

“I know, baby. I’m right there too.”

Jacelyn squeezed his wrist once, twice, and then moaned long and high as she finally found the release Joe had been teasing her with. She tightened around his cock, drawing a moan from him as he continued fucking her through her orgasm. He slowed down when her pussy stopped clenching so tightly, still giving slow deep thrusts that caused her to gasp. When her heartrate had started to slow down, he picked up the pace again, seeking his own release with fast hard strokes that left his partner nearly breathless.

“Joe, Joe, fuck, fuu,” she crashed headlong into another orgasm, her body shaking with the suddeness of its arrival. She felt herself clenching and dripping around his cock, which he buried deep within her as he groaned her name with one last thrust as he filled the condom. 

They lay tangled together for two minutes, five minutes, however long it was before Jacelyn could feel her cunt attached to her body again and the slow pulsing it gave out. Joe pressed another kiss to her neck, reaching down and holding the condom on his dick as he pulled out with a mumbled curse and moan. He tied it in a knot with one hand, throwing it onto the floor behind him before wrapping his arm around Jacelyn again.

“Good morning,” he laughed into her hair.

“Good morning indeed, Joe,” she replied, voice rough.


End file.
